, 1887-09-28
BLIND TOMS. WONDERFUL GIFT.

Rolling on tho Floor in an Ecstasy of
Pleasure-PhenomenRI Musical Talent.
Since the recent action OF the courts in
taking Blind Tom from the custody of
Mr.. Bethune, his former life long friend,
manager and protector, has brought him
so prominently before the public in the
newspapers, a few facts concerning his
childhood by one who knew him then
may not prove embarrassing. He was
born near the city Of Columbus, in Mus
cogee county, Ga, of slave parents, the
property of Gen. James N. Bethune, at
that time editor and proprietor of a news
paper called The Corner Stone, but in ex-
actly what year l do not know, as he was
some 6 or 8 years, or it may be a little
older, when / first met him in 1855.
My first meeting with him was in this
wise: had just married n few months pre-
viously, and one of Gen. Bethune's daugh-
tiers had been one of our bridesmaids. On
our return from n northern tour we were
invited to line at Gen. Bethune's. Dur
ing the day music was proposed, and
upon the piano and flute my wife and /
played a tune which we had heard for the
first time at one Of the theatres in Phila-
delphia. At the first sound of the music
Tom came rushing into the parlor in a
single garment, so common among the
little niggers in the south, and while the
lta was BOluB vi lie ltll uOWn Upon le
floor, rolled over, turned somersaults,
clapped his hands, groaned and went
through divers motions, really more as If
he were in pain Than experiencing emo
tons of pleasure. AS soon, however, as
the last note was played he sprang up,
rushed to my wife and, pushing at her,
cried out eagerly:
Miss Fannie''-he knew her we'll
please git away; l wants ter play dat
tunel''
And jumping upon the piano stool he
played it off perfectly, although l know
he had never heard it until that moment,
for it had only been recently published
and had not yet come south. To test him,
then Others played tunes he had never
heard and he would Immediately play
them off with both hands, Just as he
he heard them. He seems to have lost all
sounds, whether musical or harsh. He
loved to do the churning for the family,
just to hear the monotonous sounds of the
dasher in the cream. He has even been
known to pinch and otherwise tease babies
just TO hear them cry.
One habit of his seems to SAVIOR a good
deal of romance, yet it is true. Being
blind, he would stay away from home,
listening to the songs of birds as they
fitted from tree to tree till he would get
lost in the woods, unable TO find his way
DacR. Upon such occasions the most
practicable way to find him would be for
Mr.. John Bethune, his first manager, to
go Il in the woods and play his flute,
when Tom would hear it, come to the
sound, and thus get back home.
Although idiotic, he was even at that
early age endowed with a wonderful mem
ory. After spending the day at Gen.
Bethune's, as related above, it was over
six years before l saw him again. The
war was going on, and one day on taking
n train | unexpectedly found John Bcthune
with Tom on the train. | addressed Mr..
Bethune and then Tom, not dreaming
that he would recognize me, when, to my
infinite surprise, he said:
How dye, Mr.. Sharp; how's Miss
Fannie2"
To which 1 said: "Why, Tom, how do
you know me so well?''
He replied: "Oh, 1 knows you, en- Miss
Fannie, too; don't you know when you
was at our house and played dis tuner
and he whistled the very tune mentioned
above.
On that trip l discovered how the alb
sance of sight had rendered all his Others
more acute, for as we dashed along at
perhaps thirty miles an hour he could
always tell whether we were passing
woods or open fields, houses, cuts, en-
bankments, bridges, or almost anything
else. l remember we entered a small vii.
lage on the railroad, when l asked Tom
what was outside, to which he promptly
replied; "a heap Of houses. "-Augusta
n,n \ Naypg